The inventive concepts relate to methods of fabricating a semiconductor device such as a 3D semiconductor device having a three-dimensional array of memory cells. More particularly, the inventive concepts relate to methods of fabricating a semiconductor device, which include etching a stack of layers.
Semiconductor devices are widely used in the electronics industry because of their small size, multi-functional characteristics and/or low fabrication costs. However, there is an ongoing demand for semiconductor devices that are more highly integrated. To meet such demands, for example, widths and/or spaces of patterns of semiconductor devices are being reduced while the heights and/or aspect ratios of the patterns are being increased. The fabricating of such patterns in the manufacture of more highly integrated semiconductor devices faces various obstacles. For instance, fine patterns having relatively great heights and/or aspect ratios are typically formed by depositing thin layers one another and etching the resultant stack of layers.